100 Objects #15: Bundy Clock
Aug 28, 2026
How the time clock not only ignited a revolution in workplace efficiency and surveillance, but transformed our relationship to time itself.
Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. From award winning producer Roman Mars. Learn more at 99percentinvisible.org.
PodSkip has analyzed 31 episodes of 99% Invisible, averaging 4.2 ads per episode (8% of runtime).
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Spolia
Aug 25, 2026
Spolia, from a Liverpool neighborhood to ancient Rome.
Dell Pro laptop ad, T-Mobile/carrier fine print
100 Objects #14: Basketball Sleeve
Aug 21, 2026
Producer and reporter Ramtin Arablouei has a simple question: Why are so many NBA players wearing a compression sleeve on their arm?
Empower financial app ad, Progressive auto insurance ad
The Bone Wars
Aug 18, 2026
Two rival paleontologists turn a hunt for dinosaur bones into an all-out scientific war.
Ad: National Geographic Lion + Indeed, Claude.ai sponsor read
100 Objects #13: The Sand Letters
Aug 14, 2026
Comedian Elliott Kalan joins Roman Mars to tell the story of how a politician who owed so much to a corrupt government system became the one to dismantle it, thanks to one woman: Julia Isabella Sand.
Ad - Anthropic/Claude, End credits + Ad - Anthropic/Claude
Bamboo Is Innocent
Aug 11, 2026
A devastating fire put one of Hong Kong's oldest building traditions on trial, but the real story runs much deeper.
End credits
100 Objects #12: "Negro Cloth"
Aug 07, 2026
Roman Mars and historian Seth Rockman trace the strange life of so-called "Negro cloth" — a textile category defined by nothing but who it was worn by.
End credits
The Borrowed Nature of Biomimicry
Aug 04, 2026
Behind every perfect nature-inspired design is a far more complicated story.
Progressive auto insurance ad, AT&T Business ad
100 Objects #11: Brannock Device
Jul 31, 2026
In 1925, the world saw the birth of what just might be the greatest gadget in American History: the Brannock Device.
End of show credits
The Finnish Baby Box
Jul 28, 2026
A simple cardboard box helped transform Finland into one of the best places in the world to raise a child.
End credits
100 Objects #10: Nunchaku
Jul 24, 2026
In the early 1970s, Bruce Lee made nunchaku (nunchucks) cool, but the nunchucks craze coincided with something much bigger: the birth of a radical new Asian American identity.
Mid-roll ad – AdvanTech, Article furniture sponsor read
The Original 100 Objects
Jul 21, 2026
Neil MacGregor reflects on creating the landmark series that changed how people think about history. Then, revisit the Rosetta Stone, the artifact that unlocked ancient Egypt.
BBC promo / end card
100 Objects #9: Missing Children Milk Carton
Jul 17, 2026
In 1982, a twelve-year-old paperboy, Johnny Gosch, vanished from a quiet Iowa street and sparked an unlikely campaign: the faces of missing children printed on milk cartons by the billions.
EverPierre data management ad, PNC Bank sponsor read
If Mosquito Hawks Can Fly
Jul 14, 2026
A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever.
Garbled intro audio, outro and credits
100 Objects #8: Billy Possum
Jul 10, 2026
The teddy bear was a huge hit, and sparked an idea…maybe every president from then on should have their own viral stuffed animal.
AT&T Business ad, Indeed Sponsored Jobs ad
The Score
Jul 07, 2026
We keep score of everything these days. But what happens when the numbers start changing what we actually care about?
End credits
100 Objects #7: The Otis Pamphlet
Jul 03, 2026
Journalist Jack Hitt returns to tell the wild, tragic story of America’s forgotten proto-founding father and his inflammatory 1764 pamphlet.
EverPierre data management ad, Empower financial app ad
Transatlantic Fiber-Optic Expialidocious
Jun 30, 2026
Before the internet went global, one undersea gamble made it possible.
Allstate insurance ad, DSW designer shoe warehouse ad (repeat)
100 Objects #6: "Sharpened Screwdriver"
Jun 26, 2026
How was a household tool reimagined as a deadly weapon…that never actually existed?
Pre-roll ads (Progressive + AT&T Business), Mid-roll ads (Article + Empower + Quince + Indeed)
The Most Exciting Change America Has Ever Seen
Jun 23, 2026
Billions of state quarters disappeared from circulation...and that was exactly the plan.
Pre-roll ads (Mazda, LinkedIn)
100 Objects #5: Blue Back Speller
Jun 19, 2026
Why did an ordinary schoolbook become so treasured that enslaved people risked their lives to possess it?
Pre-roll ads (Mazda, LinkedIn)
The Horn That Divided the World Cup
Jun 16, 2026
Love it or hate it, one buzzing horn changed the sound of the World Cup forever.
Intro music/ambient sounds and unintelligible speech, Foreign language segment (non-English
100 Objects #4: Lowe's Gas Bag
Jun 12, 2026
In 1861, one man and a “gas bag” filled with hydrogen sparked America's obsession with going higher, farther, into the unknown.
Pre-roll ads (Mazda, AT&T Business)
Karaoke Videos
Jun 09, 2026
Behind every cheesy karaoke track was a surprisingly ambitious filmmaking experiment.
100 Objects #3: The Pension Files
Jun 05, 2026
Unearthing a remarkable slave rebellion through dusty Civil War paperwork.
The MAPL Test
Jun 02, 2026
Canada reshaped its music industry with a quirky radio rule that changed who got heard.
Mid-roll ad break, Post-roll ad/non-show content
100 Objects #2: 60-Degree Screw
May 29, 2026
A tiny screw. A precise angle. How America built a hidden empire, one standard at a time.
Pre-show ad or garbled non-show content
Drug Story: Ivermectin
May 26, 2026
What started as a revolutionary treatment for river blindness became something far messier.
100 Objects #1: The Century Safe
May 19, 2026
A locked iron safe, sealed for 100 years. What objects did Americans choose to remember?
Pre-show foreign language/garbled segment, Mid-show foreign language/garbled ad break
Ask Your Doctor About
May 12, 2026
As wild and random as they might seem, a lot of work—and even poetry—goes into coming up with today's catchiest, most unforgettable drug names.
Pre-show garbled audio, Mid-roll ad break